Perfect Moment
by youjibaracuda
Summary: Some people were meant to have a perfect life....are Hitomi and Van part of those select few? R&R!!!!
1. Prolouge

IMPORTANT NOTICE: This fic was originally meant to be a one-shot. However, for some strange, enigmatic and bizarre reason, I divided it into four parts. It might have something to do with the difference of tone and style in each of them…so, you've been warned…::eerie music::

DISCLAIMER: I do not, nor will I ever, own *any* part of Vision of Escaflowne. Yes, yes, it's disappointing, I know, but as much as I have struggled to deny the truth, it somehow always ends up smacking me upside the head. 

LIFE SUCKS……mine in particular……

The best and the loveliest things in this world cannot be seen or even touched, but must be felt with the heart. --Helen Keller

~~~~Perfect Moment~~~~

Hitomi Kanzaki was a simple young woman. 

She didn't think she asked for too much of life. She was majoring in mythological science at the local university while holding a steady part-time job at the art museum in the archives department. She lived in a small apartment with a cat named Meruru and a couple of house plants that never gave too much trouble in general. Yes, Hitomi's life was simple yet she was content with the way it ran. 

True, it wasn't perfect, but she never expected it to be.

But for some people, life was meant to be perfect…


	2. Part I

~~~Perfect Moment~~~

She ran along the edge of the lake as if something was calling her, beckoning her to come to it. She didn't know where she was going or why she was even running until one single thought that ran across her mind pulled it all together.

__

Van.

Now she knew why she had come up this solitary cabin on a lakeside, why she had left everything without a word of explanation to anyone. It explained why she had woken up in the middle on the night to stare at the blue moon shinning brightly over the crystal water and why she had suddenly broken into a run towards a now known destination.

__

Van.

She needed to see him, needed to know if she could close that chapter of her life and continue living as she had for so many years…alone.

Utterly and completely alone.

Hitomi then did something that she had promised someone she would never do again…she wished.

She wished with everything that she had in her. 

__

I wish to see him again. I want to know…

Before she could even voice the rest of her feelings, an all too familiar column of blue light granted her wish, transporting her to the place where she could finish the last part of a quest that had begun long ago…

~~~

Van Fanel sighed deeply as he ran his fingers through the ebony locks that fell across his eyes. He never had have manageable hair, so it was to little surprise when it fell right back down into his eyes.

Van sighed again, much to his annoyance.

For months now he had been plagued by the same reoccurring thought: Hitomi Kanzaki.

The name in itself brought up in him such feelings of frustration and absolute despair that he didn't know what to do with himself.

Upset, he removed his shirt and tossed it on the floor of his study. Stepping out onto the balcony, he unfurled his majestic wings and quickly took flight, trying to leave all his thoughts behind on the ground, wanting to lose himself in the ocean of inviting darkness that surrounded him. He few high above his kingdom, wandering over the land to the wooded forest where he knew he couldn't be seen. The twin moons hanging in the night sky above him, the first one hung in the black canopy glowing brightly letting silver beams of light glide over the country, reflecting slightly on Van's white wings, making them seem almost aglow. The second moon was tinted a beautiful dark blue color, and Van could clearly make out the formation of the land upon it.

__

Where is her home? he wondered.

Where had that come from? Van shook his head. He was really losing it. It's not like it would matter if he knew which part of the Mystic Moon her home was located. For all he knew she could be in the same place he had last seen her like she could have moved far from there.

These were the thoughts running through his mind when he was suddenly engulfed in the bright column of light that pushed him to the ground. He hit the earth with a rather unpleasant thud, but before he could even open his eyes, he felt the light drop someone on top of him before disappearing into the night.

Van opened his eyes, trying to readjust to the darkness, noticing that the figure on tip of him was keeping him firmly pinned to the ground. He quickly observed that it was a woman, fully developed, probably around his same age: twenty-two or so. She wore pants, which confirmed the fact that she was *not* from Gaea.

His heart rate skyrocketed to an alarming rate when his eyes focused enough to notice her long sandy blonde hair.

She then brought her head up and Van found himself staring into the green eyes of Hitomi Kanzaki…


	3. Part II

~~Perfect Moment~~

Hitomi leaned forward and rested her arms against the railing of the balcony. After a rather awkward reunion, Van had flown them both back to the castle, where Hitomi and Van had been talking on the balcony of his study. 

They talked about eveything; how each of them had been doing, what was happening with Merle and the gang, and just about everything else they could think of. They talked for a long time, however, neither one of them really said anything that they really wanted to say. After a while they fell into a comfortable silence, enjoying the night air, each lost within their own mind. 

"Van…" she said rather uncertainly.

"Hmm?" he responded, looking off into the night.

"About—about what you said before…" her voice trailed off.

Van inwardly winced. He knew what she was referring to. A few years after she had left Gaea, he was able to go to the Mystic Moon and searched for Hitomi. When he finally found her, however, he did not have good news to give her. He had said things to her then that now made him cringe to think about. The harsh words that brought such a pained expression to her lovely features that day where etched into his brain forever.

**flashback**

"It just isn't right," a soon-to-be seventeen year-old Van said to the young girl standing before him.

"It wasn't ever right, but I know we can make it work," a confused Hitomi responded.

"I don't want to," Van said a little more harshly than he intended to, "It just wasn't meant to be, Hitomi, can't you see that? We are too different, from places that are literally worlds apart. I just don't want to do this anymore."

"Is it too difficult for you?" Hitomi questioned, clasping her hands to her chest, hoping to drown out the roaring sound of her heart falling to pieces.

"It's just not worth the trouble," Van said flatyl, avoiding her gaze, fearing to lose his train of thought.

"Our relationship isn't worth the trouble?" Hitomi repeated, incredulous.

"No, it's not. And I think it's best if we just end everything here before it goes any further. We should just each go our separate ways and move on."

The expression on Hitomi's face was indescribable.

**end flashback**

"Hitomi…" he was unsure about how to respond.

"Just let me know one thing, Van," Hitomi interjected, looking out into the night, afraid to look at him in case he could read her eyes, "Do you still think what you said was true?"

Van hesitated.

__

Of course you don't, his inner voice said, _You didn't mean it then. You don't believe it now. You were so stupid to let others convince you that you could never have what your heart told you that you should have._

"Because, well," Hitomi interrupted his inner conversation, "I just…"

She sighed and she hugged herself.

"It just really hurt me, that's all," she said in a small voice.

Van wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her pain away. He wanted to tell her that everything was all right and that they would never have to apart again.

As it was, though, all he could do was stand there and stare at her.

"You know," she said with a piteous chuckle, "I cried for a week straight after you left. The only reason I stopped was because I didn't think I had any tears left to shed."

Van bit his lip, restraining himself, knowing that if he did what he wanted to do, nothing but more pain would arise.

"But then, you what? I stopped to think about what you had said," she continued, "And I tried to see things another way. I found that a lot of what you had said made sense. We were different, from different worlds, with different futures ahead of us."

Flashbacks of the time were hitting Van hard. Each word he had been abominable and he wanted to forget it.

"Hitomi…please," he pleaded.

"So, Van," she interrupted, determined to finish expressing what had been trapped inside her for years, "I did my best to move on with my life and I am happy to say that, after much time, I was successful."

Van stared at her in disbelief. _She had moved on?_

"Well, isn't that what you wanted?"

Shut up.

Hitomi turned her emerald eyes to face him.

"But something always bothered me," she said, taking a step towards him. "I had figured that the only reason you would say such things is because you yourself had moved on and were trying to let me go so that I could move on too. But in my heart, I couldn't believe it. I pushed it away, but little details of that night would always nag me. Like the way you refused to look at my eyes and how you avoided coming near me. It was almost as if you were afraid that I would perceive that you were lying if I got too close. There was also the fact that you didn't return my pendant and that you are still wearing it now."

She reached over a fingered the delicate chain that hung around his neck, the small but concrete attestation of her argument. Van was unsure what to say in response to her amazingly accurate statement.

"So, I ask you Van…do you still mean it?"

she was close now, close enough for her to look into his eyes, emerald orbs searching ruby ones to find an answer or at least a hint of doubt.

He leaned forward and enveloped her in his arms, his head swimming due to her proximity. He was acutely aware of her being: her scent, her soft skin, her slender body against his. He didn't want to release her, knowing that once he did, she would never return to him.

She finally pulled away from him, quickly wiping tears away from her eyes.

"Well, that was silly of me," she said, trying to make light of the moment.

"I'm sorry," was all he could manage to say. "I wish…"

"Van, don't" she cut him off, "We both know it's better this way."

Van stood before her, his heart falling to pieces. He knew he had brought this upon himself when he had told her they needed to move on from each other. Know she had come to believe what he had said too.

He sighed, finally resigned to the facts of the matter. They could never be together. She knew, he knew it.

She had moved on.

"Before I leave," she said, "Could you grant me one more favor?"

Van smiled sadly at her, "Sure, anything you want."

"Will you dance with me?" she requested.

Van's eyebrows shot up. "What?" he asked, bewildered.

Hitomi giggled, her voice already sounding like a faraway dream to him.

"Dance. You can do it can't you?" she said with a teasing smile.

"Of course I can dance," Van responded, pretending to be offended, "But here? There's no music."

Hitomi smiled. "It's all right. I can sing a little, if you don't mind."

He took her in his arms and held her close.

"Cue the music," he whispered to her.

She began to hum a light slow song and they swayed lightly to it.

__

"Sometimes I wonder if

I would be the same without you 

It' difficult to forget you

And in an instant I can see

That you're just like a dream

Unforgettable to me

It sees like a story that 

Time took along with it

You'll never leave me

Don't ever leave me

And the more I yearn for you

The deeper in me I find you

Don't ever leave me

Find out now

I'll never forget you

I hear your voice and your joy

They're with me, they are still

Close to my heart.

I see you but you're not there

I reach for you but you won't come

On my lips I can still feel your last kiss

You always will be mine

The most I've had, the most I have

You'll never leave me

Don't ever leave me

And the more that I see you,

I fall deeper in love with you

You'll never leave me

Don't ever leave me

Don't ever leave

I look at the sky

I feel you will be

Unforgettable to me

You'll never leave me

Don't ever leave me

Unforgettable, that's all

Nothing less will you be

You'll never leave me

Don't ever leave me

Don't ever leave me

Don't ever leave

I'm alone here without you

Now and always you will be

In my eyes,

Unforgettable…

When she was done, he still wanted to hold her, just a little longer. He wanted to stay in this moment forever.

But she pulled away from his embrace and smiled at him.

"Thank you, Van," Hitomi told him, "Thank you for everything."

She lightly kissed his cheek and stepped away from him, turning to look up at her home in the sky…


	4. Part III

~Perfect Moment~

"Hitomi, wait," Van called to her, "Before you go, I want something from you too."

"What is it Van?" she asked, her back to him.

He took a deep breath and said, "You told me you had been able to move on and I'm glad that you did. I just wanted to know if he—whoever the lucky bastard is—does he make you happy?"

Hitomi noticeably stiffened, and continued with her back to him, remaining silent.

"Hitomi, please, tell me," he said moving towards her, "Did you marry him? Do you have children?" Van swallowed thickly and tried not to think of the possibility of any of those things. "Are you happy?" he repeated the question.

His breathing was becoming more rapid, his voice more pleading, afraid of loosing his nerve to ask the questions he wasn't sure he wanted answered. He was afraid to just let her go and leave him with those doubts.

"Hitomi, answer me," he pleaded at her silence, "You owe me that much."

He placed his hand on her shoulder to which she quickly scooted away from him.

"Why couldn't you just let it go, Van?" she asked more harshly than she intended to. She wrapped her arms around herself and shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

"Hitomi, no matter what you might think, you're still important to me," he informed her, "I want to know that you're going to be all right."

"I'll be fine, Van," she whispered.

"But are you happy?" Van asked again, more softly this time, gently turning her to face him.

Hitomi heaved a defeated sigh and closed her eyes. "I thought I was," she reluctantly answered him, "Happy, I mean."

She opened her beautiful green eyes and Van saw the tears that were threatening to fall.

"I don't have any children," she continued, "And I almost got married."

Van furrowed his brow, confused. "Almost? What happened?" he asked. 

Hitomi shrugged, "I left him at the altar."

"You **what**?" Van asked incredulously.

"I couldn't go through with it" she told him simply, "It wasn't fair to him if we got married. I was a pretty ugly situation. Had I realized what I know now, I could've saved both of us the embarrassment."

She turned her back to Van again, unable to continue while facing him.

"I barely figured it out when I had gotten to the church that day. I took one look inside and I turned around and walked out. I was trying to save his feelings because our relationship was unfair for him."

"Unfair?" Van asked, "How was it unfair just to him and not to you?"

"_I _was being unfair to him," Hitomi said in a shaky voice.

"I still don't…"

"Isn't it unfair to marry someone when you're still in love with someone else?" she shot back at him, upset, "I couldn't marry him while I'm still in love with you."

Her honesty struck him like lightning. 

__

Had she just said that she loved him?

Van's heart rate quickened and his mind raced to put it all together. All of this time, after all that had happened, after all he had said and done…she loved him. She couldn't bring herself to love another.

Unable to handle this new information in the manner that was to be expected of him, Van quickly whirled Hitomi around to face him and caught her lips with his.

He quickly deepened the kiss, pressing her against him as he felt her arms encircle his neck, letting all fears and pains, his people, his duties, everything that had ever kept him from his true heart dissolve into oblivion.

He coaxed her lips apart with his tongue and she consented, letting him do just as he pleased. He was telling her of his shame for the events of the past, for all the pain he had inflicted upon her, begging for her forgiveness and for her to be with him always.

Hitomi held on to him, wanting to be as close to him as she could possibly be. She had no intention of leaving the comfort and shelter of his strong arms nor did she want to give up the sweet taste of his mouth or the love that he was offering to her that she had longed for so long. She wanted to forget about the past and move on to a brighter future with him.

They resurfaced due to lack of air but neither let go of the other. They had wordlessly admitted their adoration and utter devotion to one another.

And in that moment, everything was perfect…


	5. Epilogue

Perfect Moment

Hitomi Kanzaki never had enjoyed a perfect life. It was probable that she would never really truly have the perfect life. But, with Van Fanel at her side, she could come pretty darn close.

~owari~

Baracuda Note: Okay…give me your honest opinion…please? ::bambi eyes:: I actually wrote this because, due to…circumstances beyond my control…and the apparent abandonment of my muse, I have not been able to produce a somewhat acceptable new chapter of Awakening…grr-ness…so even though it's the anniversary of my appearance on FFN and I *still* haven't finished my first fic (or my second either for that matter…hee hee ^_^;) I hope you guys can "survive" on this poorly written ball of fluff…thanks y'all!

B/N 2: the song Hitomi sings is actually my translation of a song by an Italian singer named Laura Pausini. The song (in spanish) is called 'Inolvidable' which translates to 'Unforgettable'. I just thought it was the cutest song!

"^_^"

B/N 3: Special thanks to all you that are still reading my babbles! A special hug for you Cece-chan! ^_~

HEY YOU!!! THAT'S RIGHT, YOU! DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! (it's the little button on the bottom left corner of your screen)


	6. Epilogue

Perfect Moment

Hitomi Kanzaki never had enjoyed a perfect life. It was probable that she would never really truly have the perfect life. But, with Van Fanel at her side, she could come pretty darn close.

~owari~

Baracuda Note: Okay…give me your honest opinion…please? ::bambi eyes:: I actually wrote this because, due to…circumstances beyond my control…and the apparent abandonment of my muse, I have not been able to produce a somewhat acceptable new chapter of Awakening…grr-ness…so even though it's the anniversary of my appearance on FFN and I *still* haven't finished my first fic (or my second either for that matter…hee hee ^_^;) I hope you guys can "survive" on this poorly written ball of fluff…thanks y'all!

B/N 2: the song Hitomi sings is actually my translation of a song by an Italian singer named Laura Pausini. The song (in spanish) is called 'Inolvidable' which translates to 'Unforgettable'. I just thought it was the cutest song!

"^_^"

B/N 3: Special thanks to all you that are still reading my babbles! A special hug for you Cece-chan! ^_~

HEY YOU!!! THAT'S RIGHT, YOU! DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! (it's the little button on the bottom left corner of your screen)


End file.
